I've been busy reading

Incontinent on the Continent: My Mother, Her Walker, and Our Grand Tour of Italy by Jane Christmas


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm not too sure I would have the nerve to schedule a six week tour of Italy with someone that I had a slightly rocky relationship with, but it makes an interesting book. Christmas and her mother were on their own for a trip that would exasperate, annoy, and yet entertain the two of them. It was not a trip of their dreams--it rained, it froze, it snowed (This was in the spring), the food was not always good, the service was often not what they expected, but still it was an eye-opening experience.
I really enjoyed this book. Being of a certain age, I found myself relating to both the author and her mother. And I'd still like to go to Italy.


Neverland: J. M. Barrie, The Du Mauriers, and the Dark Side of Peter Pan by Piers Dudgeon


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Daphne du Maurier was a cousin to the Llewellyn-Davies family that was befriended by James Barrie. Barrie assumed a similiar role in her life following the death of her father Gerald.
Peter Dudgeon draws a parallel between the families with Barrie as a rather scary center, although the du Mauriers certainly had their moments even without him.
Like many during the late Victorian period George du Maurier, Barrie, and their friends were drawn to hypnotism, seances, and the parapsycholigical. Where it led may have been the ruin of the younger generation of the family.
The book was somewhat confusing with so many characters and would have been helped by a family tree.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Okay, I'm a sucker for books told in first person by dogs (starting with that oldie Beautiful Joe). But this one is really special.
I loved this dog, with his active mind, his wit, and his passionate regard for justice. And his deep conviction that when he dies he will come back as a man.
I'm glad I read this book. Take it home and read it aloud to your dog.



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Biographical matters

I've got three interesting biographies this time, and one that should have been good if the writing hadn't been so wretched.

Clever Maids: The Secret History of the Grimm Fairy Tales by Valerie Paradis. 2005, Basic Books. 222 pp Non-fiction
Everyone knows Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm wandered around Germany collecting fairy tales so they could be turned into Disney movies. Well, they did collect them, with the help of a group of women, who got very little credit for their efforts. The Tales were collected during the years of the Napoleonic Wars which did impact some of the lesser known stories. This background is about the Grimms, the women collectors, and the tales themselves.

Nothing to do but Stay: My Pioneer Mother by Carrie Young. 1991, Delta. 164 pp Biography
In 1904 Twenty-five year old CArrine Gafkjen moves from Minnesota to homestead in North Dakota. She buys a quarter section of land outright (and a few years later, another quarter section) and begins her life as a wheat farmer. Nine years later she marries a fellow Norwegian homesteader and together they raise six children during the dust bowl and depression years.

Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant. 1885/1999, Penguin Books. 674 pp Biography
Written during the last year of Grant's life, this is military memoir at perhaps its best. Although written during an age of often overblown writing styles, Grant writes a clear and lucid story of his days in the army, including the Mexican War, but most of the action is the Civil War. It is a great book even if you don't like war stories, just to enjoy the direct writing style.

The Royal Recluse: Memories of Ludwig II of Bavaria by Werner Bertram, translated by Margaret McDonough. 1936, Martin Herpich & Son. 266 pp Biography
Ludwig II was often referred to as "The Mad" King Ludwig. He certainly had his issues, starting with what sounds like a very unhappy childhood. He is best remembered for his championship of Richard Wagner and for the fairy-tale like castles he built, which bankrupted his state and led to his death. I couldn't decide if this book was poorly written or poorly translated or both.

Memoirs

Epilogue by Anne Roiphe. 2008,HarperCollins. 214pp Biography
It's not easy being a widow after forty years of marriage. Some time after her husband's death Roiphe's daughters take out an ad in a literary magazine to ease her back into the "dating" scene. In this book, she muses on families, loneliness, grief, and other topics familiar to widows. This is certainly not a "how to cope with grief" book, but many of the emotions will be familiar to widows.

Outside Passage:A Memoir of an Alaskan Childhood by Julia Scully. 1998,Random. 219 pp. Biography
Julia's father committed suicide when she was seven. Her mother, a spunky immigrant from Poland, leaves Julia and her sister in an orphanage, and goes to Alaska to find work during the Great Depression. Four years later the family gets back together in Alaska. These are Julia's remembrances of growing up during the war years primarily in Alaska. The stories are a mixture of admiration and puzzlement for her mother's behavior. Most of the time they are told from the viewpoint of a young girl trying to make sense of the world.

The Summer of Ordinary Ways by Nicole Lea Helget. 2005, Borealis. 182 pp. Biography
Helget chronicles her life growing up the oldest in a family of six girls in rural Minnesota in the 1980s. Her father had played a couple seasons of major league baseball, before washing out and coming home to farm. The book bounces back and forth in time, but she clearly labels the time periods. For the people who like books of dysfunctional families. If you enjoyed The Glass Castle or A Child Called It, you will probably enjoy this one.

After reading these three books, I can see that it will be pointless for me to write the story of my childhood. My family, by these accounts, was entirely too happy and normal. We may not have had a lot materially, but we did have family (sometimes, even when we didn't particularly want or think we needed it). Guess I'll just have to write something else.